It’s that time of the year when NBA basketball teams are drafting their best talent for the future. All the hard work has paid off for those that shined during their college years and now they have the chance to be the best pick! Watching the NBA draft reminded me of when we went blueberry picking this past April. Our oldest daughter is now a great age for this kind of activity. She was so excited to get her bucket and head out to the blueberry bushes and gather her bushel. My husband and I were a bit more strategic about which ones we picked. We wanted the plump, ripe berries that didn’t have any spots or blemishes. Some hadn’t ripened yet and some had been exposed to the elements a little too long and had started to get mushy. Our daughter had a different strategy- she wanted ALL the berries! She had a plan and she was going for it! She plucked and plucked and we tried to show her the ones that would be more suitable but still her basket had some that didn’t look edible in it. As we headed back to the checkout where they weigh your buckets, she was so proud! She showed us her berries and we tossed out some of the bad ones but overall she had accomplished her goal, gathering as many berries as she could! When I got home we washed the berries and I noticed some of ours that looked great on the outside had some bugs on the inside that we couldn’t see from just glancing at them. Sometimes we can be like blueberries (who would have thought)...outwardly looking pretty beat up & maybe even feeling that way, then ultimately tossed aside by others because of what we “look or act” like. Or maybe we are all put together on the outside but on the inside we are looking like the hot mess express- maybe having unforgiveness, shame, regret, fear, grief, bitterness, addiction etc.. and feeling unqualified or unloved.

​Crazy as it sounds, just like Brooklyn picked her berries without discrimination, God looks at us and chooses us despite our flaws as well. He doesn’t want to throw us out, He’s willing to take us in, wash off our dirt, and adopt us into His family. We are still his “number one pick.” To others, you may be flawed but to God you’re fearfully and wonderfully made.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14NIV.

This doesn’t negate that we should be progressive in our push towards being Christlike, but it means that God still wants us even at our worst-He can still see our potential even when we or others don’t. Because even on our best day, we are still far from perfect.

“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” Isaiah 64:6NLT

Thankfully our Heavenly Father looks at our hearts. He sees us in all our mess and imperfection and looks beyond that to see our inner man.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” 2 Corinthians4:16NLT​Even when you feel like you’re last in line, bottom of the totem pole, the last man standing - God in all of His goodness would still choose you. He see’s the real you, and still calls you by name. He’s proud of His children. You are His number one pick!

“But now, this is what the LORD, your Creator says, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity]; I have called you by name; you are Mine!” Isaiah43:1AMP

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